Which to use
“pasts” and “pat” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,990
- “pasts” frequency rank
- #4,785
- “pat” frequency rank
- 49775
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pasts | pat |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of past | The sound of a light slap or tap with a soft flat object, especially of a footstep. |
Where the eye mixes pasts and pat
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pasts with pat
A purely visual mix-up. pasts (/pɑːsts/) and pat (/pæt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49775, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pasts is recorded at frequency rank #44,990, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɑːsts/. pat is at rank #4,785, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pæt/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 49775, this pair ranks #180,411 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pasts vs pat
Shared letters: apt. Private to "pasts": s. Private to "pat": -.
"pasts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "pat" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pasts ← apsts · passts · pastss · pastts · ppasts · psats
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pasts" and "pat" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pasts" or "pat"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "pasts" and "pat" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pasts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pat" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #180,411 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pasts" and "pat" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Palos vs pasts". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #180,411 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.